


Five Loves of Celegorm's Life

by Grundy



Category: The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Feanorian week, Feanorian week 2017
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-23
Updated: 2017-03-23
Packaged: 2018-10-09 11:34:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10411236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Grundy/pseuds/Grundy
Summary: Exactly what it says on the tin. Well, mostly. Celegorm being a true Fëanorion, he wouldn’t cooperate and I had to lump several women together into one section.





	

Nerdanel

Ammë is the first love of every elf, and Tyelkormo is no exception. His mother is simply the most wonderful elf in all Arda (though Atto is a close second). It will be many years before he will allow that any nis can compare to her in beauty, and very few that he will ever think her equal in heart.

Indis

His secret _haruni_ is what he thinks the light of Laurelin would be if it were a person – all golden and glowing and warming everyone around her. She treats Fëanaro’s sons as her own grandsons in so far as he will allow her to, and it is she who tells Tyelkormo whence his silver hair comes, and that Miriel loved to dance in the forest beneath the stars too.

Anairë, Irimë, Findis, & Eärwen

His uncle Nolofinwë’s wife is always calm and composed in public, and that has led to whispers that she is cold, that she married the second prince of the House of Finwë not for love but for status. Unfortunately, one of those whisperers stands within the hearing of a teenage Tyelkormo, whose temper comes to the fore as he recalls his warm-hearted aunt berating the officious cook who had turned his six-year-old self and an injured squirrel out from the kitchens empty-handed, not for lack of respect to a prince, but for being so unfeeling to a starving animal and a child who only wanted to help. She may not show it to the world at large, but her warm heart is given unreservedly to her family, even to her wild, wayward, nephew who busts court etiquette with exasperating regularity.

Anyone who cannot see that Irimë is simply the best aunt a boy could possibly have has something wrong with their head. (And no, it’s not just because she always gave him cookies as a child. Although that probably factored rather strongly into it.)

Findis is not just his aunt, she’s his mentor in the healing arts. Granted, she applied them to people while he used his for birds and beasts, but the principles were the same, and her teachings would serve him well all his life. She is also the one who told him that no matter how impressive the world found her brother Fëanaro, Turkafinwë Tyelkormo was still his own person and had to follow his own heart, not try to be his father.

Eärwen he did not see as often as his other aunts, but her cool sea breeze was ever welcome in a family dominated by the spirit of fire. He was shamefully relieved that she had not joined her husband and children on the march from Tirion, for after the madness that fell on him at Alqualondë, he knew he would never be able to look her in the face again.

Irissë

His love for Irissë started out as that of an older cousin for a younger one in need of his guidance and protection, but somewhere around the time she came of age, it became more complicated. Irissë is so like him in many important ways. They share a love of the wild and skill in the hunt, fearlessness, laugh at the same things, and wear their hearts – and tempers – on their sleeves. And if Fëanaro insists Nolofinwë is only his half-brother, that makes them but half-cousins, which means there can be no bar to them marrying.

The only brother who seemed to understand his feelings was Maitimo – and that might have to do with the fact that Maitimo was just as helplessly and hopelessly in love with another of their Nolofinwion cousins. Even Curvo, who is his closest brother, looked at him blankly when he confessed how he felt about Irissë and said, ‘but she is our _cousin_ ’.

A few years more, and they might have gathered the courage to marry and simply force their parents and brothers to deal with the fact of it. But the Darkening and the Oath changed everything. Irissë had been so angry with him after Alqualondë, and he had no chance to set things right before he made the crossing.

He was secretly glad when the boats burned that Irissë was still on the far side of the Sea – by then, they had seen enough of Beleriand to know how dangerous it was, and it was a relief to know Irissë would be safe. He might never see her again, but she would not know the fear and pain of this darkened land.

Except that she _did_ , because to his horror, when Nolofinwë arrived, she was in the host following him.

And he still didn’t get to set things right, because she refused to see him – and then Turukano spirited her away to whatever hiding place he had found for his people. He didn’t mind her being kept from him so much as he minded not _knowing_ that she was safe, because really anything could have happened to Turukano’s people and the rest of the Noldor would not know the difference.

And then one day she turned up, in pursuit of her son. She had married some dark elf and he hadn’t even known.

But that pain was _nothing_ compared to the next news he had of her, which was of her death.

 

Luthien

Falling in love with Luthien was stupid, possibly the most idiotic thing he’d ever done in a lifetime of doing idiotic things.

Capturing her had been Curvo’s idea – and it wasn’t a terrible one. Curvo didn’t want the princess of Doriath running to her death over some foolish mortal, much less going near a Silmaril and falling foul of the Oath. It was bad enough that Ingo had enmeshed himself with Beren, but Ingo’s inevitable death would not bring the wrath of Doriath down on them and make permanent the breach between the Noldor and the Sindar.

Curvo cared not in the least whether he loved Luthien or she him. He simply pointed out that a marriage would mean an alliance with Thingol, a union of all elves against the Enemy that might allow them to finally uphold their Oath and perhaps return home.

At least, that’s what Tyelkormo thought. For all he knew, he had failed at hiding his foolish love, and his little brother was in his own convoluted way trying to play matchmaker.

It wasn’t her beauty that he fell for – well, not just her beauty, for he couldn’t deny that Luthien Melianiel was the fairest nis he had ever beheld. It was the strength of her resolve, the steadfastness of her regard. She should by rights have been safe within her father’s realm, yet for her love, she would risk all, evade her mother’s enchantments, do whatever it took to rejoin her beloved. He did not doubt she would dare to enter the lair of Morgoth himself.

But in the end, noble and true of heart as she might be, her love was also foolish, for Beren was a mortal. Even should he achieve his hopeless quest, he would be gone from Arda in but a handful of years.

If Tyelkormo could but keep Luthien safe until they learned Beren’s fate, she might come to have some regard for him. If Beren died on his quest, she would turn to him. If Beren survived – well, as a mortal he would inevitably die sometime. Finwë had been permitted to marry a second time when his wife declared she had no intention of returning to the living. Why should Luthien not do the same? He can convince his brothers to defer acting on the Oath long enough that she could bring the Silmaril to him in marriage rather than them taking it by force.

He could not have foreseen that _Huan_ of all creatures in Nargothrond would be the one that betrayed him, much less that Luthien would defeat Sauron to save her Beren.

Nor could he have foreseen that Curvo’s determination to bring about the match between him and Luthien would extend to trying to kill Beren when they happened across them in the woods. He would have been willing to wait for the mortal to find his fate either at Morgoth’s hands or naturally in time. What would a few years have mattered?

But the Doom would have its full working – he lost not only Luthien, but Huan that day.

When he learned that Huan had died for Beren, and that Luthien had as well, he thought he had suffered the worst. But learning that Luthien had chosen mortal death – that was the day he abandoned all hope.


End file.
